Cards in Near Mint/Mint condition show minimal to no wear from shuffling or general play. A card graded in Near Mint/Mint condition is generally indistinguishable from cards in an unsleeved deck of other Near Mint/Mint cards. Foils in this category have little or no scuffing or clouding on the front.

Cards in Slightly Played condition show definite, minor wear. Examples of cards in this grade include cards with minor border wear, minor corner wear, very minor binder bending, slight scratching, clouding, or scuffing/loss of sheen on the front due to play wear. Cards signed by the card's artist or Richard Garfield, or bearing a pro tour stamp, are graded as Slightly Played condition, if they would otherwise be Near Mint or Slightly Played. Foils in this condition will generally have some clouding or wear on the front of the card. Sleeves may or may not be needed to play these cards in a tournament. Non-Card items classified as "Slightly Played" will show definite minor wear from normal use of the item.

Cards in Moderately Played condition show moderate wear, but are still legal for tournament play if sleeved. Examples of cards in this grade include cards with moderate binder creasing, moderate corner wear, moderate border wear, whitening on the back or front face of the card, slight inking along the back borders, moderate scratching or clouding, minor water damage, or slight (hairline) shuffle creasing.

Cards in Heavily Played condition show extreme wear, and may not be legal for tournament play, even in a sleeve. We do not sell cards in this condition on our website! We do occasionally sell Heavily Played cards in-person at events, where the buyer can see the exact amount of damage to the card before purchase. Heavily Played cards include cards that have writing on the back, major creasing, folding, major water damage, moderate to major whitening, major border wear, moderate to major inking (including white-bordered cards that are markered on front to look black-bordered), tearing, chunks missing out of the card, cards that have been run over by a car, foil cards with major "silver" edging showing, cards that have been run through a washing machine, etc. In short, Heavily Played cards are any cards that grade worse than Moderately Played.